Basic Needs for a Pet Pigeon

[maryco]

Pigeons make wonderful pets and are pretty easy to care for, here are some basic things that pigeons need:

Water:
1. Fresh water (change it twice a day if it gets dirty quickly)

Feed:
2. A good pigeon mix either from a feed supply or pigeon supply store is best. Bulk stores often carry some grains which can be mixed to make a pigeon mix, make sure they are good quality and not infested with bugs (Wheat weevils are a common problem in the wheat that I have bought from a bulk store)
A good mix with quality grain should contain most of these seeds: Wheat, barley, whole corn/unpopped pop corn, white/green peas, maple peas, buckwheat, flax, milo, millet, safflower, vetch and others..

There are many mixes out there, here is a good site:
http://purgrain.com/ingredients.htm
http://purgrain.com/products.htm

Grit:
Grit (Not gravel from a pet shop) aids in the digestion of seed and pigeons enjoy picking at it for minerals and other benefits. Red cross grit is most often found at a feed supply store, it contains crushed oyster shells and is a good source of calcium.
Also offering chopped cuttle bone to your pigeon is another good calcium source, this is especially good for hens who are about to lay.

Supplements:
4. Pigeons kept indoors will need a vitamin supplement because they are not exposed to direct sunlight to produce their own vitamin D3. A good Avian Supplement can be found at a pet shop or from a pigeon supply store. Make sure it contains vitamin D3 (Prime, by Hagens is a good product that I recommend)

Snacks:
Some snacks that pigeons enjoy occassionally are, Raw unsalted peanuts (NOT roasted), safflower, sunflower hearts, hemp, sesame seeds (raw) and others..

Fruits and Veggies:
5. Some pigeons enjoy eating veggies and some fruits.
Vegetables to try are fresh spinach leaves, garlic greens, kale, lettuce (Romaine is best and not iceberg) grated carrots, thawed peas and corn from the freezer bags. Sprouts are also very nutritious, you can grow your own as that's safer. Lentil sprouts and mung bean sprouts grow very quickly and pigeons LOVE them!
**Avoid Veggies like Broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.

Fruits: So far I've only tried fresh papaya fruit with my own pigeons, papaya contains enzymes which aid in the digestion. Only small amounts should be given though.
**Avoid Avocado as it's toxic to all birds.

Additional benefits:
- Adding ACV (Apple cider vinegar) to the water once a week, this helps keeps add some acidity to the system which keeps diseases like coccidiosis, canker and crop candida away.
The dose is 1 tbsp per gallon of fresh water.
- Probiotic powder mixed into the seed (moistened with afew drops of sunflower oil, garlic oil, or corn oil) or adding the probiotics to the water once a week as well will help replace the good gut bacteria. If this is not convenient then an alternative is giving a probiotic capsule every 2 weeks or month down the pij's throat.
Probiotic capsules can be bought from a health food store, the same kind that humans can take.
Probiotic powder can also be found at a health food store.
The product in the following link is designed for pigeons specifically and is available at Jedds and Siegel:
http://www.siegelpigeons.com/catalog-dia.html

- Five medium cloves of garlic can be put in a gallon of water or a tiny bit of grated garlic in the water bowls, garlic is healthy and keeps the feathers looking nice and keeps internal parasites away.
- A brewer's yeast tablet (avaiable at pet shops, mostly for dogs) and cod liver oil capsule (for vitamin A and Omega 3 which keeps the feathers shiny) can be given once every 2 months or so..
**Be careful not to overdose on the Cod liver oil as Vitamin A can be toxic if given too much.


Housing:

A nice cage will do for overnight roosting, the pigeon should be able to stretch out both wings and still have some room. Pigeons don't really like round perches so you can get a flat perch.
The droppings should be cleaned once a day to keep the cage clean and the pigeon healthy.
If the pet pigeon is to be kept in the cage most of the day then he needs a big indoor cage (Of course still needs some flying time outside the cage as well, building a cage is much more convenient as many of our members have. Cages that big are hard to find and expensive)
If the pigeon can be kept free in a seperate room even just in the day time then that's much better.

Bathing:
Once or twice a week putting out a tub with water will help keep the pigeons clean, pigeons LOVE baths but will splash around quite a bit so an old shower curtain on the floor will make it easier to clean up.

[Victor]

Thank you passing the information.I wish I knew about PIGEON TALK last March when we found our wouded pigeon.We pretty much resourced our information we needed through the vet,the folks at PETCO, AND eventually my daughters friend supplied us with the link to Pigeon talk last summer, though I NEVER REALLY JOINED UNTIL RECENTLY.I printed a copy of your tips and will apply somethings I have not tried.Thanks!!

[maryco]

You're welcome, I hope this post will be beneficial to everyone.

[KIPPY]

How about some links for pigeons products?

http://www.jedds.com

http://www.siegelpigeons.com

http://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com

http://www.globalpigeon.com

Not sure if one is better then the other when it comes down to poduct, price and shipping and handling.

I like Jedds because they also go through USPS. They also seem to give more of a detailed description of product. That's just my opinion.

[maryco]

Thank you Kippy, good idea.